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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. pitch — completely
  3. march — the month
  4. mate — a friend
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. file — a line of people
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. file — a document
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. fall — to drop

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com